Birka Energi to double heat derived from waste

OSLO - Finnish-Swedish energy company Birka Energi plans to double its recycling of waste for heat production as the Swedish government tightens regulations, a company director told Reuters yesterday. "Sweden wishes to increase recycling through district heat plants with more than one million tonnes per year from todays 2.2 million tonnes, and we want as large a piece of that pie as possible," said Goran Fermback, director of Birka Varme AB. Birka Energi aims to double its waste processing to one million tonnes, which will increase district heat output from 1,500 megawatt (MW) to 3,000 MW, Fermback said. Birka Energi, owned by Finnish energy group Fortum and the City of Stockholm, currently produces around 25 percent of Swedens total production of 6,160 MW. The move comes as a result of the Swedish governments implementation of a series of regulations concerning waste, including a prohibition against dumping any combustible materials by January 1, 2002. Birka Energi on Monday entered a deal with recycling companies IL Recycling and Ragn-Sells in order to increase efficiency in collecting waste. "Through this coopertation deal we wish to ensure we get the right waste products for our district heat plants from both an environmental and an economic perspective," said Fermback. Birka and Ragn-Sells are also looking to extend the cooperation into Norway. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE